Search Results: Enforcement Trends

CFPB Highlights Risks Arising from Chatbot Usage in Banking Industry

On June 6, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a Spotlight on financial institutions’ growing use of “chatbots” as a means to provide cost-effective customer service. The use of chatbots in customer service has been gaining popularity among financial institutions in recent years.  The ten largest commercial banks…

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California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation Settles With "Buy Now, Pay Later" Company

On August 3, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced ​that it had entered into a consent order with a Florida-based lending company that allegedly made “illegal loans.” Specifically, the consen​t order alleges that the company’s policy of making “buy now, pay later” arrangements for point-of-sale transactions qualified as “loans,” subjecting…

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Goodwin Webinar on CFPB Supervisory and Enforcement Priorities

On April 5th, Goodwin attorneys hosted a webinar discussing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) changes to its supervisory and enforcement priorities with respect to unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAPs) under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). To recap what was discussed: Download our presentation materials. Watch…

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Goodwin's 2021 Consumer Financial Services Year In Review

Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement & Investigations and Litigation practices are once again proud to present our annual Consumer Finance Year In Review. Industry regulators staked out a clear intent to return to normal, rescinding pandemic-specific policies and letting go of relaxed enforcement. Reviewing the key developments and events in…

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Massachusetts AG Sues National Auto Lender for Unfair and Deceptive Practices

On August 31, 2020, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy (“Massachusetts AG”) announced that she had filed suit in Massachusetts state court against a national auto lender for allegedly making unfair and deceptive loans to thousands of Massachusetts consumers since 2013 and engaging in unfair debt collection practices. According to the Massachusetts AG, the company…

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Finance Company to Pay $440,000, Banned from Selling Student Loan Services in Massachusetts

On August 7, 2019, the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Massachusetts AG”) announced that it filed a complaint and consent judgment in Suffolk County Superior Court.  The consent judgment bans a purportedly unlicensed finance company from collecting on any active student loan debt relief accounts in Massachusetts, and requires the company to pay $340,000 to repair the…

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First Half of 2018 Sees Significant Decline in Publicly Announced or Publicly Filed Enforcement Activity

During the first half of 2018, Enforcement Watch tracked 40 publicly announced or publicly filed enforcement actions involving consumer financial services companies. The 18 enforcement actions tracked during Q1 2018 represent a substantial decrease from the 46 actions tracked in Q1 2017. That trend continued in Q2 2018, with Enforcement Watch…

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Webinar: What's Happening Inside the CFPB and How It Impacts State Enforcement of Consumer Finance Laws

On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, Anthony Alexis, head of Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice and former Assistant Director and Head of the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Kyle Tayman, partner in Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice, kicked off Goodwin’s State of Enforcement Series with the webinar “What’s Happening Inside the CFPB and…

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Q2 2017 Sees Significant Decrease In Civil Penalties and Consumer Relief

In the second quarter of 2017, Consumer Enforcement Watch tracked 40 enforcement actions taken against consumer financial service providers. This represents a marginal decrease from the 46 enforcement actions taken against consumer financial service providers that we tracked last quarter, and from the 46 enforcement actions tracked in the second…

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Georgia AG Follows Familiar Pattern; Settles Suit Against California Payday Lender for Alleged Rent-A-Tribe Scheme

On February 9, the Attorney General’s Office for the State of Georgia (Georgia AG) announced that it reached a settlement and entered into a consent order with a California-based online lender relating to an alleged “rent-a-tribe” scheme.  The consent order, filed in Georgia state court, bars the lender from doing…

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Goodwin Releases Review of Major Developments Impacting the Consumer Financial Services Industry

Goodwin, a leading Global 50 law firm, announced today the release of the 2016 Consumer Finance Year in Review, a detailed report that highlights the major litigation, enforcement and regulations that impacted the consumer finance industry in 2016. The second annual report, produced by the firm’s Financial Industry and Consumer…

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Federal Court Certifies to the Ninth Circuit the CFPB’s Challenge to Alleged “Rent-a-Tribe” Scheme

On January 3, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California certified for appellate review its August 31, 2016 Order finding that a California-based payday lending company used a “rent-a-tribe” scheme to avoid state usury laws, in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).  Enforcement Watch covered the August 31,…

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Enforcement Watch Cited by Wall Street Journal

Today’s WSJ Pro Market Talk: Daily Analysis Roundup featured an article titled “3Q Enforcement Actions vs. Consumer Financial Firms Fell,” which cites data reported on by Enforcement Watch: During the July-September quarter, federal and state regulators brought 37 enforcement actions against consumer finance providers, a slower pace than the 46 cases…

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Q3 2016 Sees Significant Decrease in State Enforcement Actions; Federal Agencies Hold Steady (Interactive Charts Inside)

In the third quarter of 2016, Consumer Enforcement Watch tracked 37 enforcement actions taken against consumer financial service providers.  This represents a decrease from the 46 enforcement actions that were tracked last quarter and the 50 actions that we tracked in Q1.  25 of the Q3 enforcement actions were settlements…

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Georgia AG Secures Agreement from Online Payday Lender to Suspend $6.5 Million in Collections

On November 3, 2016, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office (Georgia AG) announced that affiliated online payday lenders will suspend collections on approximately $6.5 million in loans following a Georgia Supreme Court ruling that state law applied to the online payday lenders.  As a result of that ruling, the Georgia AG’s case currently…

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Q2 2016 Sees Increased Personal and Student Lending Enforcement (Interactive Charts Inside)

For the second quarter of 2016, Consumer Enforcement Watch tracked 46 enforcement actions taken against consumer finance providers. This represents a slight decrease from the 50 enforcement actions that were tracked last quarter, and a decrease from the 56 actions that we tracked in the second quarter of 2015. Approximately two-thirds of…

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